Hopkins Film Fest 2001 will highlight the off-center

Film

The middle leg of Baltimore's film-festival trifecta unspools this weekend as the Johns Hopkins Film Fest 2001 takes over the university's Homewood campus.

Hot on the heels of the 13th annual Baltimore Jewish Film Festival, which wrapped last night, and three weeks before the 3rd annual Maryland Film Festival, the Hopkins fest promises decidedly less mainstream fare - the perfect place for cinefiles looking to expand their horizons.

Tickets cost $3 per film, $5 for the entire day, or $15 for the entire weekend. For a complete list of what's playing, information on venues and other tidbits, check out www.jhu.edu/~jhufilm/fest or telephone 410-516-4046. Among the more promising offerings are:

Today

Darren Aronofsky's shattering "Requiem for a Dream," a horrific look at what addiction to anything - heroin, diet pills or self-delusion - can do. Ellen Burstyn received an Oscar nomination for her acclaimed performance as the pitiable Sara Goldfarb, who sacrifices more than she realizes for a shot at TV. But this movie has so much more to offer than just one performance. (9:30 p.m., Shriver Hall).

"Bookwars," from director Jrosette, is a documentary look at New York's street-side booksellers and how they're faring under Mayor Rudy Guliani, who is determined to clean up the city's image. (9 p.m., Gilman 110).

"God Made Man" is being promoted with the tagline, "If you miss this movie you'd better be dead." (The film was directed by Peter Nelson and is presented by the Maryland Film Festival.) Sounds threatening enough to me. (Midnight, Shriver Hall).

"Mental Hygiene -- Manners, Menstruation and The American Way" presents several instructional films from 1945 to 1970. Chances are you might not buy into everything these films say. (1 p.m., Donovan Room).

"Short Films for Short People" highlights six shorts that live up to that billing. Included is "Elvis Doesn't Sing Anymore," about a young British lass who joins the King on a bank-robbing spree; "Odessa or Bust," which is set in the year 2067, when the filmmaking capital has moved from Hollywood to Odessa, Texas; and "Plot Fever," a look at the life of a cemetery plot seller. (7 p.m., Donovan Room).

"Death by Animation," a collection of 10 animated shorts so cool, they're not even charging admission. (4:30 p.m., Mudd Auditorium).

Sunday

"5 Alive on 35" is a collection of seven(!) shorts, including "Dirt," about folks who eat lots of it; "Faust/The Lost Feminine," a 16-minute version of the "Faust" legend; and "Quiero Morrir," in which a psychotic murderer who raped and killed a woman begs her husband (now a cop) to pull the plug and let him die. (7 p.m., Shriver Hall).

"Student Filmmaker's Showcase," a collection of shorts so cutting edge they don't even have the line-up finalized yet. (1 p.m., Donovan Room).